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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27753289">A Reindeer Reunion</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Christmas Fluff, F/M, Post-War, Reunions</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 21:00:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,757</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27753289</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry takes Teddy out to teach him about muggle Christmas traditions when he runs into a familiar face from his past. There’s never a dull moment when the sons of Marauders are together, and this time is no exception.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Pansy Parkinson/Harry Potter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>63</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>The Marauders Advent 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Reindeer Reunion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my first ever fic, and I’m glad to have had the opportunity to participate! The push to just get writing and stop overthinking things was huge for me. A big thank-you to Kyonomiko and bkool899 for reading this over and encouraging me. </p><p>I hope you enjoy my little take on some Marauders Christmas mischief! My assigned marauder was Harry, and my prompt was reindeer. Pansy’s in here because I love Hansy as a main pairing and feel like it’s sadly underdone. Please leave some feedback and let me know what you think!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harry walked through the crowded Christmas market with his godson on his shoulders. Fairy lights were strung crisscrossed overhead and around each vendor’s stall, and the two-and-a-half year old was enamoured with them.</p><p>In the couple years following the war Harry had formed a close bond with Teddy Lupin. He saw much of himself in the orphan and was determined to make his godson’s childhood bright and happy, sharing the burden of raising him with the boy’s grandmother, Andromeda Tonks. Harry spent many of his hours outside of work either at the Tonks family home where Teddy’s mum had been raised or at his own home at Grimmauld Place, which he had inherited upon Sirius’ death. He had a room set up for Teddy there, and found much of his own healing from the war came from the hours he spent playing with the young metamorphmagus. In addition to that, Andromeda’s own grief and her experience as a mind healer made her a well-suited confidante and grandmother figure for the Boy Who Lived. </p><p>Harry’s relationship with Ginny, already strained from his year spent on the run, had broken down completely in the wake of the Battle of Hogwarts and Harry’s new role of godfather. Ginny, with the rest of the Weasleys, was grieving the loss of Fred, and she sought Harry out as a way to soothe her pain and forget her sorrows. Harry, while willing to attempt to bury his grief in his girlfriend's affections, couldn’t ignore the pull his magic felt towards the helpless newborn in Andromeda’s care. Not long after the dust from the battle settled, the two former lovers parted ways, and if there were some bad feelings on the part of one Molly Weasley, it only pushed Harry further to strengthen his familial bonds with Andromeda and Teddy. </p><p>And so it was that Harry found himself wandering the night market just before Christmas, casting inconspicuous and wandless warming charms on himself and Teddy while they enjoyed the sights and smells, drank hot cocoa, and searched the displays for Father Christmas’ reindeer.</p><p>Harry looked around with a contented smile on his face as he recalled the conversation he'd had with Andromeda prior to going out with Teddy that evening. Being raised by muggles himself, Harry was familiar with muggle Christmas traditions and taught them to Teddy mostly to make Andromeda laugh.</p><p>“So you’re telling me that muggles believe a strange man knows all their names and desires, whether they’ve behaved or not, and can even tell when they’re sleeping, and they’re okay with him simply sneaking into their home at night to give them toys or coal? Not even Dumbledore could manage that level of disturbing surveillance and meddling! Though they do seem to have the twinkle in their eye in common, I suppose,” Andromeda said with a skeptical raise of her eyebrow.</p><p>Harry chuckled in response, “Well, to be fair, the adults don’t believe it, only the kids do.” This only succeeded in making Andromeda more annoyed. “No wonder muggles took witches and wizards to the stakes! If this is what children are raised to believe...and how would this mythical man even manage to deliver it all in one night? Even a time turner wouldn’t be able to account for all the time it would take. And he would need to travel between the houses. What do they teach children he does to get around all night? Fly on a thestral?” she joked, not knowing how close she was to the actual myth. Harry bit back another laugh before replying, “Erm...well..children might be taught that flying reindeer pull the man's sleigh around...”</p><p>“Harry James Potter, is this the sort of tripe you’ve been filling Teddy’s head with? Is this why he’s been sprouting facial hair, turning his nose red, and asking for a pet reindeer for Christmas? Because if so, you will take him to see proper reindeer and show him that there is nothing magical and everything dirty and smelly about those animals! I agreed to a pet, but not some bloody farm animal he expects will truly fly!” Harry ducked as Andromeda’s hand came out to smack the back of his head.</p><p>“Alright, Andy, alright! I’ll explain it to him! Come on little tyke, let’s go on an adventure!” Harry bent down, scooped up his godson and placed an oversized woolly hat on the boy’s ever-changing hair before apparating away to the Christmas market they’d been wandering for the last couple hours.</p><p>Both had been having a grand time, surrounded as they were by the scents of pine and spices, and filled with the festive energy of the crowd. As they snacked on homemade fritters and shared a hot cocoa, they finally made their way to the enclosure that housed the reindeer. The animals looked happy enough, dressed with bells around their necks and chewing on moss, but they most certainly were not flying, and Teddy was not impressed.</p><p>“Unca Hawy, da weindeer no fwy. Make dem fwy!” The toddler insisted, pulling at Harry’s hair. A few people around them chuckled at the pair, but then as Teddy gave Harry’s hair another big tug he lost his balance and began falling from his place on Harry’s shoulders. Harry quickly reached up to grab his godson before he fell, but not before he dropped his cocoa on the ground, spilling it all over the shoes of the woman who had just wandered over to the reindeer exhibit.</p><p>The woman shrieked as the drink spilt on her, and after quickly surveying the damage she exclaimed, “Ugh, well isn’t this just great!” Harry glanced at the boots with a grimace and, looking up, prepared to apologize profusely to the woman when their eyes locked and he lost all thought of what he was about to say. For there, staring back at him was none other than Pansy Parkinson.</p><p>“P...P...Potter?” She stuttered out, her face paling significantly. She looked like she was going to be sick, and her eyes started darting around, as if looking for a way to escape.</p><p>“Parkinson...how...where...what are you doing here?” Harry’s wonder was slowly being replaced by a curious excitement, and he couldn’t help but blurt out, “We’ve been looking everywhere for you!”</p><p>If possible, Pansy paled further at that statement, but she obstinately stuck up her chin before retorting, “Well you can forget you ever saw me! I was just a kid, and I was so scared, and I refuse to go to Azkaban just because I wanted to save everyone, even if it meant one person had to die, even if that one person was you! I left the wizarding world, I’m not hurting anyone, and I refuse to go back!” She finished her rant with a small stomp (a rather adorable stomp, Harry thought to himself) and whirled around as if to leave.</p><p>Quickly grabbing her arm with one hand, he turned her back around while setting Teddy gently down beside him. Pansy’s eyes shifted to the young boy and softened a little before looking back at Harry and hardening once more.</p><p>“Look, Parkinson, no-one’s trying to send you to Azkaban. You disappeared after the final battle, and Draco has been looking for you ever since. He’s an auror now, and has been using all of his free time to try to track you down. Your magical signature hasn’t registered anywhere, with any ministry, and after what happened with your dad, and then your mom leaving England, everyone was starting to think...” he trailed off uncomfortably, looking down to check on Teddy. When he looked back up at her she was eyeing him strangely.</p><p>“What?” He asked, cocking his head to the side.</p><p>Pansy’s lips twitched, and slowly a smirk formed on her face. “You just called him Draco. Don’t tell me he’s finally made friends with the Chosen One? A childhood dream fulfilled. And an auror too...what must his father think about that?”<br/>
Harry grimaced before responding, “Lucius Malfoy is dead. He was sentenced to 10 years in Azkaban, but was murdered by a guard a month into his stay.” Pansy’s smirk fell as her eyes filled with tears, and her eyes began darting around once more.</p><p>“Listen, Parkinson, can you just tell me where you’re staying so I can pass it on to Draco? He’s been really worried about his best friend going missing, and his father’s death was hard on him and his mother...” but Pansy was shaking her head rapidly and backing away.</p><p>“No, you can’t tell anyone I’ve been here. I don’t want to be found. They’ll just kill me like they did my dad and Lucius...”</p><p>Harry's eyes widened in realization. “Parkinson, your dad wasn’t killed. He died of cancer.” Pansy’s brow furrowed before responding, “What are you talking about, Potter? What does a bloody astrological sign have to do with my dad?”</p><p>“No,” Harry continued, “cancer of the body. Listen, it’s a disease that most wizards don’t encounter. Healers usually catch it during routine checkups and are able to magically get rid of it before it spreads through the body. With the war, though, your dad had been avoiding St. Mungo's. They didn’t even know that’s what he was sick with until they checked for foul play after he’d already died. I'm sorry, I assumed you'd be told the cause of his death...” Harry trailed off uncertainly.</p><p>“What?” Pansy breathed out quietly. “No, no-one ever told me. I assumed he’d been cursed...he was fine during the Christmas hols in seventh year but by Easter he looked skeletal. I thought he was being punished for displeasing Voldemort or something. I got news he died just before the final battle...I...I thought he...” Pansy's breaths started coming quickly as her eyes filled with tears. Just when Harry reached his arm up to comfort her he heard the crowd around him gasp and scream. Panicked, he looked down beside him for Teddy, but the boy had disappeared. Looking up at Pansy he could see his fear reflected in her eyes. “My godson...” Harry croaked out, looking around wildly. Pansy started looking around too, momentarily shocked out of her grief, when suddenly her eyes widened and she grabbed Harry, spinning him around to face the reindeer enclosure.</p><p>Harry tried to make sense of what he was seeing, but was dumbstruck for a moment. There was Teddy, sitting astride a frightened looking reindeer who was floating ten feet off the ground. Three other reindeer had already taken flight and were bucking back and forth, trying to control their movements as they floated higher and higher. The muggles around them seemed unsure of what to do. Some children were laughing and clapping excitedly, while others were staring with their jaws dropped. Workers were scrambling to contain the remaining reindeer, and one was on a cellphone talking to someone in a panicked voice.</p><p>“Parkinson, quick, help me out here!” Harry called over to the woman who was now laughing with a tinge of hysteria to her voice. Her laugh cut off abruptly as she froze, looking at him with the slightly panicked look from before. “Look, it’s simple," Harry explained quickly. "It’s just the Wingardium Leviosa. Teddy must have gotten bored or frustrated with me and had an accidental bit of magic. Float him over here while I send off a Patronus to Kingsley! Then I'll float the reindeer lower so we can do a Finite without them getting hurt." </p><p>"Potter, I can't do magic here, now!" When he saw she was still hesitating, Harry growled low in his chest, protective instincts for his godson taking over. He quickly cast the levitating charm towards Teddy and started floating him back before glancing at Pansy again. "Parkinson, forget the statute of secrecy! The obliviators already have their job cut out for them at this point, you won't get in trouble for trying to help the situation and they'll just obliviate everyone! Help me out!"</p><p>One look back at Pansy showed her shaking and on the verge of a panic attack again. “No, you don’t understand," she shouted miserably at him, "I can’t do magic! I don’t carry my wand on me anymore! I haven't since...”</p><p>Immediately her face crumpled and Harry's eyes widened, understanding dawning on him. He quickly turned around, gathering a gleeful Teddy into his arms and looked around at the crowd. Some muggles had noticed what he was doing, saw his wand and screamed, fleeing while yelling of witchcraft. A few cameras flashed, and others clapped happily as they saw that Teddy had made a safe return to Harry. Quickly Harry conjured a notice-me-not charm on himself, Teddy and Pansy, and then sent off a Patronus to Kingsley. He then turned to Pansy, who was shaking and staring blankly at the reindeer who were still floating high in the sky. Harry tried to get her attention, but she seemed as though she couldn't hear him.</p><p>“Parkinson. Parkin...PANSY. Look at me.” Pansy’s eyes drifted to Harry’s and he took a deep breath, trying to get her to copy him. He repeated the gesture a few more times, and eventually her trembling subsided, but no sooner had she seemed to calm down than her eyes filled with tears, and soon she was crying inconsolably. Pausing only a moment to observe how strange this whole situation was, Harry took her in one arm, keeping a firm grip on Teddy with his other arm, and tried to soothe the distraught witch. Teddy, looking around, saw his Uncle Harry helping someone who was sad and lunged himself towards her, attempting to offer his own comfort.</p><p>When Pansy’s crying subsided, she lifted her head and smiled weakly, first at Teddy then at Harry. “Sorry, it's been a long time since I’ve had a panic attack like that. It’s just...I haven't seen magic for ages and being in a crowd of people screaming brought back some frightening memories for me.” Harry nodded slowly, processing this confession and looked down to check on Teddy. Deciding the moment of crisis had passed, and sensing Pansy’s need to move on and not be so vulnerable, he said casually while smiling at his godson, “So, you’ve been hiding in the muggle world all this time? You, Slytherin’s Princess, have been slumming with the muggles?”</p><p>Pansy clicked her tongue impatiently and tossed her hair over her shoulder before responding with a huff, “It’s hardly slumming it, Potter. I had my inheritance converted to pounds before I took off, and muggles are hardly peasants. Some of their inventions are even better than the wizarding equivalent, I’ll have you know!”</p><p>Harry’s body started to shake with silent laughter before he looked up at her with mischief in his eyes. “Inventions like Prada boots, for example? Looks like I’ll have to buy you a new pair, Pansy.” She glanced down at her favourite, and now ruined, pair of boots and huffed. She looked back up at Harry, an odd fire in her eyes, and for a moment he was worried he had offended her somehow. The thought that she might disappear again before he got to know her better made him feel unexpectedly disappointed, but before he could reflect on it she smirked at him and said, “Only if I buy you another hot cocoa first, Potter.” His heart picked up its pace at her suggestion they prolong their time together and he decided to push his luck a little. </p><p>Eyes flashing with mischief as he readjusted Teddy in his arms, Harry leaned in a little closer to the brunette witch before conspiratorially whispering, “Actually, you can buy it for Teddy. I'm craving something much more pleasant...something I'm not sure we’ll find at those muggle establishments you’re used to..." Harry waggled his eyebrows and winked at her, and Pansy's hand flew up and smacked his arm as she glared indignantly at him.</p><p>"Harry Potter, you did not just proposition me."</p><p>"I was talking about firewhiskey, Parkinson. What did you think I meant?" he asked innocently, the blush creeping up his neck betraying him. Pansy rolled her eyes at his blatant flirting, but found herself intrigued by the man in front of her. She had always thought she’d had the Golden Trio figured out, but this man in front of her was enigma, and her curiousity was undoubtedly piqued. </p><p>Maybe it was time for her to start thinking about returning to the wizarding world after all.</p>
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